Tie rod and seal assembly

ABSTRACT

A seal member is provided for use in concrete wall form construction which sealingly engages with a form bore through which a tie rod supporting the seal member passes so as to prevent leakage of wet concrete from the from. The seal member comprises a cylindrical member which is radially expanded into sealing engagement with the form bore by means of a partly tapered seal element in the form of an off-set retainer core. Sealing is automatically achieved by means of the seal member to be axially moved by the form wedges during locking up of the form. Alternate embodiments provide a radially expanding seal, which is expanded by axial movement of the seal member, as well as an off-set retainer core. The offset enables the frustoconically shaped cones or insert members to function both to form a depression in the cast concrete, as well as to serve as spreaders for location of the wall forms. Additional embodiments provide a rubber ring seal, together with shield members; yet another embodiment provides a sealing sleeve.

Sates tc n91 Franc TIE ROD AND SEAL ASSEMBLY [75] Inventor: Eugene K. Franc, San Anselmo,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Construction Engineering Products, San Rafael, Calif.

3,l39,730 7/1964 Williams et al. 249/213 3,482,813 l2/1969 Wells et al. 249/217 3,638,904 2/1972 Franklin et al. 249/213 3,653,628 4/1972 Shoemaker 249/214 3,801,061 4/1974 Holt 249/2l7 Primary ExaminerRobert D. Baldwin Assistant Examiner lohn McQuade Attorney, Agent, or FirmPhillips, Moore, Weissenberger Lempio & Strabala [5 7 ABSTRACT A seal member is provided for use in concrete wall form construction which sealingly engages with a form bore through which a tie rod supporting the seal member passes so as to prevent leakage of wet concrete from the from. The seal member comprises a cylindrical member which is radially expanded into sealing engagement with the form bore by means of a partly tapered seal element in the form of an off-set retainer core. Sealing is automatically achieved by means of the seal member to be axially moved by the form wedges during locking up of the form. Alternate embodiments provide a radially expanding seal, which is expanded by axial movement of the seal member, as well as an off-set retainer core. The offset enables the frustoconically shaped cones or insert members to function both to form a depression in the cast concrete, as well as to serve as Spreaders for location of the wall forms. Additional embodiments provide a rubber ring seal, together with shield members; yet another embodiment provides a sealing sleeve.

5 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet2of3 3,926,400

2/5 -zaa FIG. 5.

US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet3 of3 3,926,400

TIE ROD AND SEAL ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with seal assemblies for concrete wall forms. More particularly, the invention is directed to an improved seal assembly for sealingly engaging the wall form bore in order to prevent loss of wet concrete and moisture through wall form bores through which tie rods pass for securing on the exterior of the form.

Currently in concrete construction, tie rods and inserts in the form of frustoconical members or cones are used to temporarily position wall forms and thereby form a mold for receiving concrete. After the concrete is hardened, the wall forms are removed, and protruding ends of the tie rods are broken or snapped off along a break point which is inset from the outer wall surface and provided for that purpose. This breaking off is facilitated by the fact that a depression or cavity is formed in the hardened wall at the point of protrusion of the tie rod ends by the insert member. Subsequent to the breaking off of the tie rod ends, the wall is finished by grouting of the depressions to the level of the finished wall surface.

Some of the prior art patents which show various parts of the structure above-referred to are as follows:

US. Pat. Nos. 2,245,559; 2,370,174; 2,728,127; 2,977,659; 3,075,272; 3,464,667; 3,482,813; 3,625,471; 3,643,909; and 3,653,628.

One of the most pressing problems in the concrete wall form art is that of sealing of the wall form bores to prevent leakage of wet concrete and moisture therethrough during sealing of the forms and curing of the concrete. Leakage of wet concrete and moisture is undesirable, since it may result in degradation of wall strength, fouling of the exterior hardware, such as dogs or other locking devices, as well as the protection of rough and irregular edges on the wall form surface. These undesirable features require remedial work in the form of extensive post-casting operations, such as finishing and cleaning.

Attempts to solve the leakage problem have resulted in some imperfect attempts, which have accommodated themselves to tolerating some leakage. Examples may be found in US. Pat. Nos. 2,370,174; 3,643,909; and 3,482,813, above referenced. Other attempts may be found in co-pending applications, Ser. Nos. 357,465 filed May 4, 1973, and Ser. No. 381,806 filed July 23, 1973, to Abbott. The instant invention is designed to be an improvement thereover.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide an improved seal member for concrete wall form construction which prevents undesired leakage of concrete and moisture.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device which is inexpensive, as well as easily installed and removed.

It is a further object to provide such a device, whereby the positive seal is achieved automatically and incident to the locking up of the forms.

It is a further object to provide such a device which includes an offset so that the tie-rod insert serves to perform a spreader function.

The invention, in a primary embodiment, takes the form of a seal assembly, wherein a seal element provides a tapered frustoconical surface which acts to radially expand the cylindrical collar into sealing engagement with a concrete wall form bore. The expansion may be readily accomplished by movement of the collar, such as by axial movement incident to locking up of the concrete wall form. An axial offset positions the cone or insert member within the wall forms to overlap the edge of the bore, and thereby provides a spreader function to desirably position the walls in spaced parallel relation.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a transverse partial cross-sectional view of a prior art concrete form, enclosing a body of concrete between the walls thereof and illustrating the tie rod, cone insert member, and locking structure thereof;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary partial cross-sectional view of the same, taken along lines 22 in FIG. 1 and illustrating details thereof;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view and partial cross-section of a preferred embodiment of the instant invention seal member prior to engagement with the form bore;

FIG. 3A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 3A3A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3B is a view taken along lines 3B3B in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3C is an alternate embodiment of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a view like fig. 3 showing the seal member advanced and radially expanded into sealing engagement with the form bore;

FIG. 4A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4A-4A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is the first alternate embodiment shown in fragmentary partial cross-section;

FIG. 5A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 5A-5A in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary partial cross-sectional view of a second alternate embodiment;

FIG. 6A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 6A6A in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary partial cross-sectional view of a third alternate embodiment;

FIG. 7A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 7A7A in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary partial cross-sectional view of a fourth alternate embodiment; and

FIG. 8A is a partial cross-sectional FIG. taken along the lines 8A-8A in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 2 show the prior art concrete wall form environment, including tie rod, cone members, and locking devices. With particular reference to FIG. 1, there is shown generally at 10 a concrete form which includes a pair of spaced parallel walls 12 backed up by struts 14 and walers 16. Tie rod 18, having a button or head 20 formed on each end thereof, extends through bores 22 formed in walls 12, struts 14 and waler 16. Frustoconically shaped cones or insert members 24 are dimensioned to have a maximum diameter larger than the wall form bore 22, such that they provide a spreader function in conjunction with projections or stops 26 on tie rod 18. This spreader function serves to position the walls 12 a fixed distance apart, for subsequent reception of the concrete 28. Locking members in the form of wedges or dogs 30 are inserted between buttons or heads and wales 16. The bifurcated arms of the ramp-shaped wedges or dogs straddle the rod (FIG. 3A). Also concentrically disposed on the tie rod adjacent the projections are washers 32. The cone or insert members which may be frusticonical or other suitable shape are provided to mold the depression or cavity in the finished concrete wall, so as to allow the rod ends to be broken off within the wall at a fracture point (not shown) on each rod within the wall. Reference may be had to aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,370,174 for a more full description of the prior art device.

Turning to FIG. 3 there is shown a preferred embodiment of the instant invention wherein seal assembly shown generally at 134 is shown within the form bore 122 of wall 112. It may be parenthetically noted that structure in this and following embodiments having numerical analogues and other embodiments will be distinguished by the addition of a prefatory number, i.e., l for the first embodiment, 2 for the second, etc. Also, the structure shown in FIG. 3 (and FIGS. 4-8) is the right-hand portion of a complete structure having mirror image left-hand portion in a manner like that shown in FIG. 1. Seal assembly 134 comprises a generally cylindrical hollow seal member or collar 136 which is positioned over the end of rod 118 and over a seal element 138, having a cylindrical rear body portion 140 and a tapered frusticonical forward body portion 142. As best seen in in FIG. 3A, the rear body portion is of a diameter less than that of the hollow interior core 144 of member 136. Forward body portion 142 tapers from a diameter equal to that of the rear body portion to a diameter which is greater than interior core 144. As may also be seen in FIG. 3A, a half-bore 146 running the axial length of seal element 138 is asymmetrically placed below the center line thereof such that rod 118 is asymmetrically positioned and thereby element 124 similarly positioned with respect to bore 122 when the seal assembly is fully en gaged.

In operation, tie rod 118 with element 124 and seal element 138 positioned thereon is inserted through form bore 122 form the exterior portion. The maximum diameter of element 124 is set to be slightly less than that of bore 122 in order to facilitate this positioning. The collar 136 is then inserted into the bore 122 to the position shown, wherein it abuts forward body portion 142 and forms a seal assembly with seal element 138. The outer diameter of collar 136 is set to be slightly less than the diameter of bore 122. In addition, the length L of the collar 136 is such that when the collar is advanced axially a distance B, which is measured from its initial point distance A from element 124, by means of the advancement of dog 130 in an arrow direction. In this manner, an automatic sealing effect is achieved incident to locking up of the form.

FIG. 4 shows the position wherein the dog 130 has been fully advanced and similary collar 136 has been fully axially advanced and radially expanded into sealing engagement along a circular line of action 148. As best seen in FIG. 4A, the aforementioned asymmetric offset causes an overlap of a part of element 124 over the interior surface 150 of wall 112. This overlap may be seen as the distance C in the subject FIGURE. The overlap allows the rod 118 to function in conjunction with stop 126 to provide a spreader function such that 4 the walls are maintained in a desired spaced relationship.

Alternatively, seal element 138 can be dimensioned so as to more fully encompass the rod as shown by distance A in FIG. 3C.

Turning to FIG. 5, there is shown a first alternate embodiment and a variation of the device shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, which is alike in all respects except for the elimination of the rear body portion of the seal element, and in the fact that element 238 is an integral part of element 124.

In FIG. 6 there is shown a third embodiment of the invention which is similar to the second embodiment of FIG. 5, and having an expanding torus shaped, annular seal 352 which is bonded or otherwise fixed to the forward end of sleeve 336. In operation, seal 352 is radially expanded by the lateral pressure thereon exerted by elements 324 and 336 when the seal is locked up. Obviously, the outer diameter of element 352 is somewhat less than that of the bore 322 prior to such radial expansion.

Turning to FIG. 7, there is shown a fourth embodiment wherein no radial expansion is provided. Rather, a closely fitting rubber ring seal 456 is held in position by means of collar 436.

Turning to FIG. 8, a fifth embodiment comprises a sealing sleeve of a forward diameter portion 560 which is closely fitted to the interior of the bore 522 and a cutaway rear diameter portion 562. The sleeve is fitted over a shortened offset retainer core 564. Rather than radial expansion, this embodiment achieves sealing through tight fitting relationship of diameter 560 with the bore 522. The materials of construction may conveniently be plastic for elements 124,138, and core 560. A resilient material such as rubber may be used for the collars 136 and 236, seals 352 and 456, and sleeve member 558. Sleeve member 558 may alternatively be of rigid material.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of preferred embodiments of the invention and that the scope of the invention is not limited thereto but is to be determined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A tie rod and seal assembly in combination with a pair of spaced-apart wall forms for use in temporarily positioning said pair of spaced-apart wall forms, said tie rod and seal assembly comprising a generally elongated tie rod defining an axis and opposite ends, each of said rod ends being adapted to project through a respective bore in said spaced-apart wall forms, spreader means on said tie rod exterior to said form bores and adapted to contact the interior surfaces of the wall forms adjacent to said form bores for positioning said wall forms, and generally cylindrical seal means on each of said rod ends for positioning within and sealing against each said bore in said wall forms for preventing ingress and egress of fluid, said seal means including a generally cylindrical collar of resilient material mounted on the tie rod end and further including expansion means for radially expanding said collar in each said bore, and wherein said expansion means comprises a seal element mounted on the tie rod end adapted to be positioned within each said bore in said wall forms and having a smaller diameter portion and a larger diameter portion joined by an intermediate tapered frustoconical surface portion.

extension along said tie rod in a direction opposed to the associated spreader means.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said spreader means comprises an insert member positioned against a stop member on said tie rod and means for axially offsetting said insert member with respect to said collar whereby said insert member is adapted to be positioned against the interior surfaces of the Wall form.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said insert member is generally frustoconical in shape for molding depressions. 

1. A tie rod and seal assembly in combination with a pair of spaced-apart wall forms for use in temporarily positioning said pair of spaced-apart wall forms, said tie rod and seal assembly comprising a generally elongated tie rod defining an axis and opposite ends, each of said rod ends being adapted to project through a respective bore in said spaced-apart wall forms, spreader means on said tie rod exterior to said form bores and adapted to contact the interior surfaces of the wall forms adjacent to said form bores for positioning said wall forms, and generally cylindrical seal means on each of said rod ends for positioning within and sealing against each said bore in said wall forms for preventing ingress and egress of fluid, said seal means including a generally cylindrical collar of resilient material mounted on the tie rod end and further including expansion means for radially expanding said collar in each said bore, and wherein said expansion means comprises a seal element mounted on the tie rod end adapted to be positioned within each said bore in said wall forms and having a smaller diameter portion and a larger diameter portion joined by an intermediate tapered frustoconical surface portion.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said collar has a hollow interior and defines an inner and an outer diameter, said smaller diameter portion of said seal element being less than and said larger diameter portion being respectively greater than said inner diameter, whereby axial advancement of said collar parallel to said rod axis over said tapered portion causes radial expansion thereof.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein the smaller diameter portion of said seal element includes a cylindrical extension along said tie rod in a direction opposed to the associated spreader means.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said spreader means comprises an insert member positioned against a stop member on said tie rod and means for axially offsetting said insert member with respect to said collar whereby said insert member is adapted to be positioNed against the interior surfaces of the wall form.
 5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said insert member is generally frustoconical in shape for molding depressions. 